Two months after an overflow crowd jammed a first hearing, opponents of a proposed high-voltage electricity transmission line from Aberdeen to Red Bank are expected to gather at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft Wednesday evening.

There, in a 2,000-seat arena, Administrative Law Judge Gail Cookson will hold a second hearing on the Jersey Central Power & Light Company plan, which calls for support poles as tall as 210 feet running for 10 miles along the North Jersey Coast Line railroad, ending at a substation in Red Bank. JCP&L and its parent, First Energy Corporation, say the line is needed to reduce the frequency and duration of outages for some 214,000 Monmouth County customers.

The proposal, which requires approval by both New Jersey Transit and the state Board of Public Utilities, is contested for numerous reasons by municipal governments along the line, including Red Bank, as well as by a citizen’s group, Residents Against Giant Electric, or RAGE. A January hearing by Cookson drew more than 1,000 objectors to Middletown North High School, many of whom could were denied admission because because the venue was at capacity, according to reports. 

The meeting is slated for 5:30 to 11 p.m at the college’s Collins Arena. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)